What’s News, Breaking: Friday, April 12, 2024

April 12, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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BREAKING NEWS
LAWMAKERS WILL INTRODUCE BILL TO REPEAL
CONGESTION PRICING

BAY RIDGE — AN EFFORT TO REPEAL CONGESTION PRICING WILL BRING TOGETHER SEVERAL elected officials from the local through national levels on Monday morning, April 15. Assemblymember Michael Tannousis (R, C-Staten Island/Brooklyn) is holding a press conference to introduce a bill that would repeal congestion pricing, on the grounds that traffic would increase disproportionately on Staten Island and the Bronx, leading to increased pollution in those areas. The group will also point out that congestion pricing will exacerbate the skyrocketing and non-discretionary cost of living and commuting in New York City. Expected to participate are Congressmember Nicole Malliotakis (R-11/southwest Brooklyn), who has been a staunch critic of congestion pricing, and a City Councilman and Assemblymembers who represent Staten Island.

Congestion pricing still faces some lawsuit resolutions before it can take effect. Monday’s press conference will take place on the sidewalk adjacent to the Staten Island entrance to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.

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STATE COMPTROLLER WILL HONOR SEVERAL
AT IRISH HERITAGE EVENT

MANHATTAN — AN IRISH HERITAGE EVENT that State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli will host on Tuesday, April 16, will honor the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement of April 10, 1998, and the contributions of Irish men and women to New York and America. During the event, being held at Hunter College, DiNapoli will honor Consul General of Ireland in New York Helena Nolan, President & CEO of the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation Michael J. Cusick, and TWU International President John Samuelsen.

DiNapoli will also give an update on the New York state pension fund’s commitments in Northern Ireland.

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BROOKLYN CONGRESSMEMBER JOINS VOTE TO REAUTHORIZE FISA, MINUS WARRANT REQUIREMENT

CAPITOL HILL — THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON FRIDAY VOTED TO REAUTHORIZE SECTION 702 of The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, including a key measure that allows for warrantless surveillance of Americans. Among the lawmakers voting for the measure was Brooklyn Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-11). This law — which is considered controversial because it not only authorizes far-reaching monitoring of foreign communications but has also led to the collection of messages and phone calls among U.S. citizens, was passed 273–147, with some Democrats voting for what the Biden administration has called a vital counterterrorism tool.

Rep. Malliotakis wrote, “Not only does this bill strengthen our national security, it includes significant reforms to protect Americans’ privacy, such as restricting political appointees from conducting queries, establishing a zero-tolerance policy with accountability standards and criminal penalties for query violations, and requires the FBI to submit regular reports to Congress regarding their internal disciplinary standards for those who abuse the system.”

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BILL WOULD PROVIDE CHILDCARE FOR POLICE DEPTS.
WITH HIGH ATTRITION RATES

CAPITOL HILL/LOWER MANHATTAN — A NEW BIPARTISAN BILL TO MITIGATE WORKFORCE SHORTAGES in the NYPD due to a lack of childcare will be introduced this Sunday. U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on Sunday, April 14, will hold a press conference at the Detectives’ Endowment Association in lower Manhattan to announce the bill’s introduction: the Providing Child Care for Police Officers Act, of which Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) is a co-sponsor, would provide $24 million in federal funding for child care services to support the men and women who risk their lives, working nontraditional hours, to keep communities safe. Recent surveys show that over 20% of police officers considered leaving their department, while more than half reported having to leave or miss work due to a lack of access to child care services. The NYPD has had its lowest headcount since 1990.

Through her bill, Sen. Gillibrand aims to increase public safety by reducing barriers to a career in law enforcement and by ensuring the best talent is recruited into the nation’s police departments.

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NEW BILL WOULD CALL FOR REVISING AREA MEDIAN INCOME METRIC FOR INCLUSIVENESS

CAPITOL HILL — A BICAMERAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND AREA MEDIAN INCOME FAIRNESS ACT OF 2024, that Brooklyn Congressmember Yvette D. Clarke introduced on Friday, April 12, is a multi-pronged approach to confront some of the core challenges, including a calculation flaw in the Area Median Income (AMI) metric, that has led to a severe lack of affordable housing in our nation’s urban areas. While the housing crisis has many causes, it is the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s AMI metric that has proven harmful due to its current calculation methods that exclude low-income families from the affordable housing intended for them. The Area Median Income Fairness Act of 2024 addresses these challenges by directing HUD to conduct an assessment of more inclusive calculation methods of the AMI and to submit a report to Congress detailing its post-assessment findings and recommendations for reforming or eliminating the metric’s use.

The legislation also authorizes $5 billion for various housing programs nationwide to combat these issues.

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BIPARTISAN BILL WOULD REQUIRE FDNY TO GIVE
BODY ARMOR, DEFENSE TRAINING TO MEDICS

CITY HALL — CITY COUNCIL VOTED ON THURSDAY, APRIL 11, TO ENHANCE SAFETY MEASURES for emergency medical services workers by requiring that the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) provide body armor, as well as de-escalation and self-defense training, to its Emergency Medical Services (EMS) employees. The bipartisan bill (now in committee) that Minority Leader Joseph Borelli (R-Staten Island) is sponsoring, has two components. Introduction 126-A would require the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) to provide body armor to employees within the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services (EMS), a measure that would largely codify existing practices and establish requirements that protective equipment meet ballistic and stab resistance standards of the National Institute of Justice. Introduction 127-A would require that FDNY provide de-escalation and self-defense training to EMS workers. EMS workers have historically faced health and safety risks, including threatened and actual assaults, leading to high employee attrition rates.

Thirteen City Councilmembers, including two from Brooklyn, are co-sponsoring this bill, including Kalman Yeger (D-44) and Mercedes Narcisse (R-46). Councilmember Narcisse is a Registered Nurse.

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FILE YOUR TAXES FOR FREE (BY MONDAY) WITH IRS DIRECT FILE

STATEWIDE — NEW YORK RESIDENTS WHO FILE SIMPLE FEDERAL TAX RETURNS can participate in the IRS free Direct File Pilot this tax season, Rep. Dan Goldman said in a release. If you lived in New York all of 2023, earned all your income in the state — with one odd exception — and claim only the most popular state tax credits, you are likely eligible. To check your eligibility and get started, use this link: directfile.irs.gov. Taxes must be filed by Monday, and state taxes must be filed separately; IRS Direct File offers guidance on how to do this.

The one exception: You can’t have lived or earned income in Yonkers in 2023 to use Direct File, since Yonkers is subject to the Yonkers Resident Withholding Tax.

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WILLOUGHBY AVE OPEN STREETS HOURS SLASHED

FORT GREENE — THE POPULAR WILLOUGHBY AVENUE OPEN STREET in Fort Greene, which is currently closed to through traffic 24/7, will have its hours cut in half this summer, reports Streetsblog. The Department of Transportation this week announced that the section of the street between Washington Park and Washington Avenue will soon be open to through traffic between 8 p.m. and 8 p.m. Local residents expressed dismay at the proposal, noting that the car-free street — currently open only to parking, deliveries and city and emergency traffic — is heavily used by parents dropping off schoolchildren, joggers, dogwalkers and others during the early morning hours; the DoT countered that the partial reopening was intended to aid elderly and disabled residents, but did not provide further details.

A spokesperson for Councilmember Crystal Hudson said in a statement that her office was tracking the situation, writing that she “has raised the issue of adequate, safe implementation by DOT given that people are now accustomed to its 24/7 status.”

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FREE STRESS-BUSTING EVENT IN SUNSET PARK

SUNSET PARK — IT’S EASY TO GET STRESSED OUT in this fast-paced world. To help folks deal with it all, Maimonides Medical Center, Councilmember Alexa Avilés and the Brooklyn Public Library’s Sunset Park branch are hosting a free “Mind your Mind Workshop” stress awareness event this Saturday, April 13, from noon to 3 p.m. The groups organized the event “to create a safe space for open discussions and learning about coping mechanisms to manage stress effectively,” Maimonides said in a statement. Participants will be able to learn about and share stressors, practice mechanisms to cope with stress, and engage therapeutic activities such as journaling and adult coloring.

The event takes place at Sunset Park Library, 5108 4th Ave., ground floor, room A/B.

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ROLLING CAR KILLS 87-YEAR-OLD AFTER MEDICAL EPISODE

GRAVESEND — POLICE DESCRIBED AN UNFORTUNATE SERIES OF EVENTS that led to the death of an elderly woman in Gravesend, Brooklyn on Wednesday afternoon. Joan Behan, 87, pulled her 2013 Toyota Corolla into her driveway on West 10th Street just before 3 p.m., but opened the door before engaging the car’s gear selector in the parked position. As Behan started to exit the vehicle, she experienced an apparent medical episode, causing her to slump forward, police said. Subsequently, the car began to roll backward down the driveway, leading to Behan being ejected. She fell to the ground and was fatally struck by the front driver’s side wheel.

EMS transported her to Lutheran Medical Center, where she was pronounced deceased. The investigation remains ongoing by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad.

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CRYPTO-SCAMMER ‘SBF’ SEEKS TO STAY IN NOTORIOUS BROOKLYN PRISON PENDING APPEAL

SUNSET PARK — CONVICTED CRYPTO-CRIMINAL SAM BANKMAN-FRIED is seeking consent to stay at the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn as he appeals his conviction and 25-year sentence, Crypto News reports. Bankman-Fried was convicted of wire fraud, securities fraud, money laundering and other charges in relation to the multibillion dollar-collapse of FTX cryptocurrency exchange and the related Alameda Research scandal.

Bankman-Fried’s attorneys argue that remaining in Brooklyn would ease the coordination with his appeal lawyers. According to Forbes, the appeal could take years.

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BJORK TO HOLD CONCERT UNDER KOSCIUSZKO BRIDGE

GREENPOINT – ICELANDIC SINGER-SONGWRITER BJORK IS SET TO PERFORM on the banks of Newtown Creek next month, reports DJ Mag, at the Under the K Bridge Park event space, set beneath the Brooklyn side of the Kosciuszko Bridge section of the BQE. She will be headlining a DJ set alongside artists Jlin, Mun Sing, Shygirl, Eartheater and Sega Bodega. Event organizers promise “live musical arrangements, digital technology, and stunning visuals” from the avant-garde artist, a one-time resident of Brooklyn Heights.

The event will take place on Friday, May 10 at 8 p.m.; tickets will go on sale on Friday, April 12 to the general public, and can be purchased online through AXS.

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13 CHARGED AFTER SYNAGOGUE TUNNEL SPECTACLE

CROWN HEIGHTS – THIRTEEN YOUNG MEN WERE CHARGED ON Wednesday in the Brooklyn State Supreme Court over the now-infamous January incident in which fighting broke out between police and Chabad Lubavitch members at the group’s Crown Heights headquarters after the discovery of unpermitted digging work in the synagogue’s basement, reports the New York Times; four other defendants are currently in Israel, according to their lawyer. The work was reportedly part of an internally divisive effort to enlarge the synagogue that some members believe was ordered by Chabad’s former leader Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who passed away in 1994. The diggers excavated a large area outside the synagogue and constructed a tunnel to a neighboring empty building before being discovered by Chabad leadership, who called construction crews to fill in the tunnels, sparking the confrontation that led to police being summoned.

Defendant Mendel Gerlitzky reportedly wore a shovel-shaped lapel pin to court, a signifier of support for the pro-construction “Expand 770” movement, which is opposed by Chabad leadership. All 13, several of whom are Israeli, were ordered to surrender their passports.

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BROOKLYN MAN DIES AFTER HITTING CURB AND FALLING OFF MOTORCYCLE

CROWN HEIGHTS — A MAN RIDING A MOTORCYCLE ON ATLANTIC AVENUE last month who ran into a curb and fell, injuring his head, died on Wednesday, April 3, police reported. On Saturday, March 16, just after midnight, police responded to a 911 call of a single-vehicle collision at Atlantic and Kingston avenues. The NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad determined that a 2024 Znen motorcycle operated by Rahmel McNair, 46, of East New York, was traveling eastbound on Atlantic Avenue when he struck the cement curb. McNair was transported by EMS to NYC Health and Hospital/ Kings County in stable condition, but his condition deteriorated over time and he succumbed to his injuries.

There are no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing, police said.

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FIVE INJURED WHEN ELDERLY DRIVER LOSES CONTROL OF MERCEDES

DYKER HEIGHTS — SEVERAL PEOPLE HAVE SURVIVED WITH ONLY INJURIES after an elderly man lost control of his Mercedes, plowing into them and pushing other vehicles onto the sidewalk in front of a store at 76th St. and 18th Ave. on Wednesday night, April 10. According to the Daily News, witnesses who asked to not be identified saw the 89-year-old driver hit a 20-year-old man on a scooter, then hit a parked taxi whose driver was in the store buying food. Among the injured was the female passenger of the Mercedes, who was trapped when her airbag was deployed.

The Daily News reported that the five victims were transported to local hospitals with injuries considered non-life threatening. The investigation is ongoing.

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REPORT CITES HISTORY OF PROBLEMS WITH CHILDBIRTH FATALITIES AT WOODHULL HOSPITAL

BEDFORD STUYVESANT — THE DEATH OF A BABY WHILE BEING BORN, an unrelated mother’s death during childbirth two weeks later and the doctor involved with both are the focus on a report that state health investigators have released about Woodhull Medical Center, reports the New York Times. Part of the city’s public hospital system and formally known as NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, this medical center has already exhibited problems on its labor and delivery floor. The doctor involved in both the aforementioned deaths, Ronald Daniel, was fired in December after the maternal childbirth death. However, the state health officials declared the hospital’s maternity department as being in “immediate jeopardy” — an administrative determination that a hospital poses a danger to patients.

The racial disparities involving safe and healthy childbirth were emphasized after the woman died. Her death and the ongoing problems ignited a demonstration in front of Woodhull Hospital.

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RETIREE GROUPS WILL RALLY, DEMANDING END TO MEDICARE PRIVATIZATION

LOWER MANHATTAN — RETIREES FROM SEVERAL UNIONS AND PROFESSIONAL GROUPS PLAN a noon rally for Friday at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services in lower Manhattan to demand a stop to the privatization of Medicare by their health plans and to deliver a letter to President Biden demanding instead an expansion of traditional coverage. The letter to Biden includes signatures from 19 retiree organizations, including several based in New York City, and some of which will have speakers: the Cross-union Retirees Organizing Committee. Retiree Advocate-UFT, New York City Council of Municipal Retiree Organizations, New York Public Library Retirees Association, Retiree Chapter of Professional Staff Congress and the National Alliance for Retiree Health Care. The groups assert in the letter that retirees nationwide “are being forced into for-profit Medicare Advantage plans, without their consent.” They add “The National Bureau of Economic Research estimates that 10,000 Medicare Advantage patient lives could be saved every year if insurance companies did not delay and deny the care their doctor ordered as a method of increasing their profits.”

Their letter to Biden also points out a finding from a study about “United Health’s use of AI to deny care for their Medicare Advantage enrollees.”

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IN MEMORIAM: MR. CEE, BELOVED DJ WHO HELPED LAUNCH CAREERS OF LOCAL HIP-HOP ARTISTS

CITYWIDE — Mister Cee, a disc jockey born in Bedford-Stuyvesant who became key to the booming 1990s hip-hop scene, has died at age 57, reports the New York Times’ Orlando Mayorquín. Born as Calvin Lebrun in 1966, Mr. Cee was a leading DJ on New York City’s Hot 97 for more than 20 years. He was credited with discovering and launching or elevating the careers of the late Notorious B.I.G. and many local artists, and he was credited as an executive producer on Biggie’s legendary 1994 and now ironically-titled debut “Ready to Die.” Chris Green, a promoter at Capitol Musical Group had told the New York Times in 2014 (when Mr. Cee left Hot 97) that he “was the glue between the old and the new” on Hot 97.

The website for 94.7 The Block NYC reported that several colleagues, including co-host Shelly Wade, grew concerned when they couldn’t reach Mr. Cee, who hosted a show on that station. Skip Dillard, the brand manager at WXBK 94.7 The Block NYC later confirmed Mr. Cee’s death.

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MISSING TEEN IN BED STUY

BED-STUY – POLICE ARE ASKING THE PUBLIC TO HELP LOCATE missing man Kevin Heredia, age 19, who was last seen on the evening of April 10 leaving his Lexington Avenue residence near the Bedford-Nostrand G train stop. Kevin is described as Hispanic, 5’0″ and approximately 140 pounds, and was last seen wearing gray pants, a gray hoodie, black shoes and a blue do-rag.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (Twitter) @NYPDTips.

Missing teen Kevin Heredia. All calls are strictly confidential.

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AVOID THE BQE IN BROOKLYN THIS WEEKEND, DOT WARNS

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ALL QUEENS-BOUND LANES OF THE BROOKLYN-QUEENS EXPRESSWAY will be closed between Atlantic Avenue and Sands Street (the Triple Cantilever on the Brooklyn Heights waterfront) from 2 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, April 13, to 4 a.m. on Monday, April 15, NYC DOT warns. Adding to expected traffic jams, eight Queens-bound entrance ramps will be closed, and one Staten Island-bound lane will also be closed during overnight hours. Traffic Enforcement Agents and pedestrian managers will be posted at key intersections, NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a release.

The repairs focus on new concrete and reinforcing steel bars being added at spans near Clark Street and Grace Court as part of near-term work critical to continuing the structure’s lifespan. Traffic diversion maps for the weekend can be found on DOT’s BQE website.

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FAMED FOOTBALL STAR ACQUITTED OF MURDER, O.J. SIMPSON DIES AT 76

LOS ANGELES — O.J. SIMPSON, THE FOOTBALL SUPERSTAR WHO PLAYED NINE OF HIS 11 NFL SEASONS with the Buffalo Bills before his fall from grace, has died at age 76, according to Associated Press and other media. Simpson’s family said the cause was cancer, with which he was diagnosed earlier this year. After his football career, Simpson gained notoriety for being a suspect in the 1994 knife slayings of his second wife Nicole Simpson, and Ronald Goldman, her friend. Although acquitted in 1995, he later had to pay the families’ penalties in a civil court case.

Simpson later got into an armed fight with sports memorabilia dealers and was convicted in a jury case of armed robbery and other felonies. He insisted that he was trying to retrieve sports memorabilia that originally belonged to him.

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DEFENDANT WHO DROPPED GUN WHEN APPREHENDED GETS 20 YEARS FOR MANSLAUGHTER

GOWANUS AND DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A BROWNSVILLE MAN HAS BEEN SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS in prison for the fatal shooting in May 2020 of a romantic rival. Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced on Thursday, April 11, that the defendant, who he identified as 32-year-old Rudolph Riley, had dropped off a child that he shared with an ex-girlfriend living at the Gowanus Houses. When the woman’s current boyfriend tried to intervene, Riley shot him fatally with a 40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun. The defendant left the child alone in the apartment and was apprehended when a detective from the 76th Precinct recognized his description from a radio alert. During that exchange, the defendant dropped a red bandana that had concealed the gun and was arrested on the scene. State Supreme Court Judge Vincent Del Giudice sentenced Riley, who had pleaded guilty to manslaughter in February.

A ballistics analysis later matched this weapon with the one used in the shooting.